Archipelago
by Ara Catin
Summary: Hermione muses over the events that have transpired in the months since the battle at Hogwarts, and Harry comes to her advice and her opinion for one last time. HG, HR


Disclaimer: Anything that is familiar to you is obviously JKR's.

**Archipelago**

Hermione Granger was fully healed, at least, her body was. It was several months after the horrible battle at Hogwarts that claimed so many lives, both known to her and unknown. The loss of Fred, Tonks and Remus was still strongly felt at the Burrow, which was where Hermione had been living. She was hesitant about moving her parents back from Australia; she was worried that there will still Death Eaters out there. Well, she wasn't worried that there were, she knew there were. The trials after the battle had ended showed that just because Voldemort was gone, it didn't mean that his follows weren't still loyal, that the insignia wasn't still burned onto their forearms. She just didn't want to bring her parents back to have them killed, or worse, tortured to insanity like Neville's. She just wasn't asking for that. So she sat.

She was only a mile or so away from the Burrow. Luna Lovegood's house was in sight. She wasn't quite sure what to think of the odd but brave girl. Luna had acted funny around Ron, but Luna knew that Hermione and Ron had finally come to their senses and were dating. They bickered less when they were together, but there was always an argument under the surface of their relationship. It was never comfortable but always exciting, which was usually fine by them. She felt sort of horrible when Ron looked at her, not because he didn't look at her with love. That was sort of why she felt so awful. He loved her absolutely, but she couldn't shake her faith in Harry. She would always love Harry better than Ron, even if she was attracted to Ron. She felt entirely awful. She could phrase it however she wanted, but Harry never left her. Harry never gave her up. Well, except for that one time in third year. She could never express it, but it was like Harry was her brother, her twin brother. They rarely fought and were like one person when they were on Voldemort's trail. It was instinct, they shared one and it kept them alive.

Ron never asked about that time, he knew better. Occasionally, when it was late and it was dark he'd grab her hand and hold her still and search her, as if trying to figure something out. He'd run his hands through her hair and search her eyes. She always worried he'd do something rash in those times, something against her, or against Harry. Nothing ever happened with Harry, she always knew it would be Ron, but- something did happen. Nothing romantic, something much deeper than any sort of shallow gesture. She hated to see Harry with Ginny, close as she was with Ginny. She knew Harry felt the same way about her and Ron, she'd see the glances. It was easy with the boys, her boys, to see what they were thinking. They were so stupid sometimes. She could see Ron with Charlie flying around the Burrow, it would only be a matter of minutes before Molly began to scream about secrecy. Hermione meant scream in the gentlest of ways, Molly was the strongest, most loving woman that any of them knew, she kept the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry together, well rested and fed. Molly survived the loss of Fred, her deepest fear realized. Just like she always thought, she had regained Percy. Molly was a woman to be admired, Hermione wouldn't begrudge her the times Molly had turned against her. She understood how Molly felt protective about Harry, not wanting harm to come to him or heartbreak.

However, Molly didn't mind Ginny and Harry. Hermione felt still protective, wanting to take him from her sometimes, to regain her schooldays feelings of possessing Harry, which was an absolutely idiotic thought, as she never possessed him. But she wanted to just keep things as they were, change was hard.

But things were changing, Voldemort was gone, victory celebrations like British wizards had never known were going on all over the UK and Ireland. Not that she had attended any yet, she read about them in the Prophet. She was always invited, so was Ron and of course, the golden boy of the wizarding world Harry was invited. The three of them would compare invitations, smile and joke about them. Ron had invented so many plays on "The Boy-Who-Lived" that Hermione could barely remember them all, but they were almost all witty. The three of them were closer than ever, still unable to talk about what they had done to find the Horcruxes, not with the rest of the world yet. They could talk amongst themselves, they always could. They wouldn't talk about when Ron left. Hermione couldn't, she couldn't even think on it. Which was why she stopped that train of thought.

Next on their plates was work, to find a job. What could they do? Well, Ron and Harry would surely be Aurors. Nothing else fit them better. Hermione could be one as well she supposed, but it never really grabbed her as an occupation. Not enough study, too much action. Going after the same old foes, not necessarily catching them? She wasn't sure if she wanted that for the rest of her life. A career in the Ministry seemed to be the best option, but she was still unsure of which department. She had time; they had all offered her jobs. Hermione, Ron and Harry could work wherever they pleased, even Hogwarts.

"Frowning are we? Knut for your thoughts." Harry's voice started Hermione out of her reverie, which was just as well because Hermione could go for years thinking on jobs.

"Jobs, which jobs, which is best, so on and so forth."

"Rather typical, any breakthroughs?" Harry slid down the tree Hermione was leaning on to sit by her side, breaking blades of grass and thoughtfully placing them in her hair, bushy naturally and frizzed by the July heat.

"None at all, although I assume Ron and you will be Aurors."

"I don't know, I'm sort of hoping for the quiet life after all this."

Hermione laughed at this, attempting to shake the grass out of her hair. "Oh but what about saving people Harry? Surely you wouldn't be able to stop that. Not to mention, if you were put at a desk you'd die of boredom and follow your father's tradition of pranking everyone in sight."

"Everyone! Hermione, I beg to differ- only Slytherins."

"Full of crap, that's what you are." She grinned at him to let him know she was joking. At this point Ginny had joined Charlie and Ron in their game of one on one Quidditch, minus the snitch of course. She stole a glance at Harry, who was looking hard at Ginny, like how he had stared at the Marauder's Map in hopes that he could somehow see Ginny during the hunt for the Horcruxes. He told her about that after, much later. He told her all about how he felt for Ginny, Hermione almost felt embarrassed, teenage boys didn't just profess these sort of sentiments, but Harry wasn't entirely normal. Ron never did that sort of thing to her, and perhaps she was grateful. They were a rather normal couple, as opposed to Ginny and Harry who had such an odd dynamic sometimes. "What's wrong with you, Harry?"

"Nothing wrong really, everything's actually great."

"Alright, you just a look a bit, engrossed. Like me in a good book."

"Hermione- you think every book is a good book."

"I do not! Just most, they're full of fascinating details and information, most of them. I've just started-"

"Hermione!"

"Sorry."

"I was thinking though. I mean, I've been thinking for some time." Harry trailed off, Hermione wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, but a sort of fear gripped her. Nothing threatening, nothing deadly but a quiet fear of change.

"Thinking? On what?"

"Ginny I guess."

"You guess? What about Ginny? You aren't going to break up with her are you? You'll break her heart, and Molly's."

"Oh joy, my girlfriend's mother has loads invested into our relationship." Harry cracked a dry smile and shoved Hermione lightly.

"Oof, thanks, really. But you know what I mean! She's practically planning the wedding already."

"Well, I think I might want to help her." Hermione stopped laughing and smiling for a second, before resuming with more force. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for Ginny and Harry. I mean, but married? Such a big step. It'd make Ginny first and foremost in Harry's life. She was horrible and selfish for thinking it, but she was first in Harry's life, out of all the girls. She had been with Harry for years, helping him, coaching him, standing up for him; they had saved each other too many times to count.

"You mean, you want to propose to Ginny?" Harry was unsure of the look in Hermione's eyes.

"Well, yes. I mean, we've been dating for a while now, and I love her."

"Have you told her?"

"No Hermione, I'm going to propose marriage before telling her that I love her. Obviously." Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione. "Honestly, you pick up on minute details in everything but this."

"Well Ginny never mentioned."

"She doesn't tell loads of stuff about us, really."

"Oh-ho, that's what you think!"

"Merlin's beard! Hermione are you serious? What do you know?" Harry was turning slightly red, making Hermione think that perhaps she didn't know absolutely everything. She wasn't sure she wanted to. The idea of Ginny keeping Harry for her very own sort of broke Hermione's heart in a way she hadn't thought it would.

"Not as much as you think I do, I mean, from the way you're blushing that's my guess."

"But do you think it's a good idea?"

"Me? Well." Hermione gathered up her courage and her desire to see Harry happy to make her reply, "Yes. I do. I think you two if you keep going as you've been will continue to make each other wildly happy, which is what people want in a marriage. I guess Potter men just have something for redheads."

"Oi! Hermione, you make it sound like loving Ginny is some twisted way of fancying my mum."

"Not in so many words! But there are certain complexes that boys can develop in relation to their mothers, according to a text that I read in-"

"Hermione! Stop! No more!" Harry flung a handful of grass at her, making them both burst into hysterical laughter. "You're awful, I've got mental pictures now that will never go away."

"Oh stop, you sound like Ron now." Hermione became slightly more serious, still trying to remove all the grass from her person. "Have you told Ron yet?"

"No, I thought I'd tell you first." Harry shrugged slightly, trying to brush it off.

"Oh Harry really?" Hermione teared slightly, a watery smile on her face. Harry was rather surprised by this and sort of frightened. Hermione rarely burst into tears, and usually it was a mystery to both Harry and Ron why. Currently Harry was utterly bewildered.

"Well. Yes. You tend to know if things are a good or bad idea. So if you thought it was alright then I'd go ahead, and if you thought I was wrong I'd see if I could get Ron to convince you." He grinned at her.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione flung her arms around his neck awkwardly, as they were sitting side by side. He patted her gently on the back, trying to figure out why in the name of Merlin she was so emotional about it. It's not like he was proposing to her. He was happy she approved though, with the Hermione seal of approval it was bound to be all right.

A/N: So that's it for now. I think this is a one-shot, but I can probably continue if anyone wants me to. This is so odd to write, I really usually ship Hermione/Harry, Ron/Luna and Ginny/anyone else.


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